This Sept. 6, 2012, file photo, shows the Amazon logo in Santa Monica, Calif. Amazon said Friday, June 26, 2020, that it is buying self-driving technology company Zoox, which envisions a future where people will request a ride on their phones and a car will drive up without a driver. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
An autonomous vehicle company acquired this year by Amazon has unveiled a four-person “robo-taxi," a compact, multidirectional vehicle designed for dense, urban environments.
The carriage-style interior of the vehicle produced by Zoox Inc. has two benches that face each other. There is no steering wheel. It measures just under 12 feet long, about a foot shorter than a standard Mini Cooper.
It is among the first vehicles with bidirectional capabilities and four-wheel steering, allowing for better maneuverability. It has a top speed of 75 miles per hour.
The vehicle is being tested in the company's base of Foster City, California, as well as Las Vegas and San Francisco, Zoox said Monday.
Zoox, based Foster City in Silicon Valley, was founded in 2014 and acquired by Amazon in June. It operates as an independent subsidiary at Amazon.
A ransomware attack has prompted a health care chain that operates 30 hospitals in six states to divert patients from at least some of its emergency rooms to other hospitals, while putting certain elective procedures on pause, the company announced.
Online fashion retailer Sheen is reportedly said to go public. Multiple media outlets reported that the Chinese-founded company has filed confidentially for an initial public offering in the U.S.
